Veronica Gajownik
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1993-08-04) August 4, 1993
Winter Park, Florida
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Sport
College teamIndian River CC Pioneers
South Florida Bulls
Medal record
Women's baseball
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2015 Toronto Team competition

Veronica Rose Gajownik (born August 4, 1993) is a former American softball and baseball player, and an American baseball manager. She was a member of the United States women's national baseball team which won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.[1][2] In 2023 she was named the Hillsboro Hops’ manager for the 2023 season;[3] this made her the first woman to manage a High-A team,[4] and the first openly LGBTQ manager in minor or major league baseball history.[5]

Biography

Veronica Gajownik was born in Winter Park, Florida, on August 4, 1993.[6] She is the daughter of Marcel Gajownik and Glenn Richards, a chief meteorologist for WOFL.[7] Veronica was introduced to baseball by her father and started to play baseball with boys in Oviedo recreation leagues.[7]

Gajownik started playing softball when she attended Paul J. Hagerty High School in Oviedo, Florida.[7] She played for the Hagerty Huskies and has a .531 batting average as a junior with a .694 on-base percentage.[8] She also competed in summer competitions for Team North Florida, the Tampa Mustangs and Team Florida.[8]

Gajownik attended Indian River State College in 2013 and University of South Florida during 2014–2015 where she played softball for the South Florida Bulls.[9]

Gajownik joined the Arizona Diamondbacks organization as a video assistant with the Hillsboro Hops, their High-A affiliate, in 2021.[3] In 2022, Gajownik served as a coach for the Amarillo Sod Poodles of the Double-A Texas League[10] and for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League.[11] In 2023 she was named Hillsboro's manager for the 2023 season;[3] this made her the first woman to manage a High-A team,[4] and the first openly LGBTQ manager in minor or major league baseball history. She is married to a woman.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "GAJOWNIK, Veronica". Toronto2015.org. Pan American Games. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Baseball - Event Overview - Women". Toronto2015.org. Pan American Games. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Ronnie Gajownik named High-A Hillsboro manager". January 21, 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-01-21.
  4. 1 2 "Diamondbacks affiliate Hillsboro names woman as manager". Laredo Morning Times. January 21, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Schultz, Ken (February 2, 2023). "Ronnie Gajownik becomes the first out LGBTQ manager in MiLB". Outsports.
  6. ↑ "Veronica Gajownik profile". Team USA. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 Bedell, John (July 20, 2011). "Diamond Girl". Seminole Voice. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  8. 1 2 "Veronica Gajownik". South Florida Bulls website. South Florida Bulls. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Gajownik Named to USA Women's Baseball National Team". GoUSFBulls.com. May 26, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  10. ↑ Liska, Larissa. "One base at a time, Gajownik makes Sod Poodles coaching history".
  11. ↑ "The Official Site of Major League Baseball". MLB.com.


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